CALGARY – Alberta will likely end the Gross Revenue Insurance Plan by next spring, but a three-year-old legal battle over the safety net continues.
Producers for Fair Insurance spokesperson Dennis Cox said the government owes as much as $100 million to farmers who made claims on frostbitten wheat downgraded to feed quality in 1992 and 1993.
About 300 people were originally involved in the suit, said the High Prairie, Alta., farmer.
He estimated at least half have accepted government settlements allowing farmers to leave the program early without giving the required three years notice. Part of the settlement required the farmers to drop any claims against the government.
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He said about 100 people are still involved in the lawsuit and the suit will continue. The case will not likely get into court until 1996.
“We’re trying to encourage people not to panic … or let the government intimidate them,” said Cox.
Bob Splane, head of Alberta Financial Services Corporation, said with the issue before the courts both sides are reluctant to speak about details.
People who stayed in GRIP this year but didn’t pay their premiums, are being approached individually to reach a settlement, he said.
He said there is discrepancy over the number of people who remain involved in the legal dispute.
The government estimates no more than 30 are left in the dispute, Splane said.
“We’re concerned that some of those may not even really want to be a party to it any longer,” he said.
Agriculture minister Walter Paszkowski announced this spring that people could leave the program early without giving three years notice as the contract originally stipulated. Only about five percent of farmers continued with the program for this crop year. GRIP will likely be gone next spring, said Splane.
The provincially run Farm Income Stability Program with an annual budget of $130 to $145 million has been designed to replace GRIP.
Starting in this tax year, FISP enables farmers to apply for assistance in a year when their gross margins fall below the previous three years.
